Follett Press Releases

MCHENRY, IL,Sep 19, 2016 –
Nader Qaimari, who leads Follett’s PreK-12 business, Follett School Solutions, is one of five panelists selected to explore the relationship between educators and education providers at the 2016 EdNET Conference later this month in Dallas.

The "Striving for Partnership: How Educators and Providers Can Address Issues of Trust and Risk" panel is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, during the annual conference’s second day at The Fairmont Dallas.

Participating in the dialogue from the educational administrator side will be superintendents Dr. Wanda Bamberg, Aldine (Texas) Independent School District; Dr. Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade County (Florida) Public Schools; Dr. Michael Hinojosa, Dallas (Texas) Independent School District; and Dr. Thomas Woods-Tucker, Princeton City (Ohio) Schools, and AASA 2016 National Superintendent of the Year.

According to Vicki Smith Bigham, EdNETconference manager, the panel is designed to serve as a "candid conversation about the state of the business relationship." She explained how these educators will address compliance, transparency, proof, and measurement and also how those issues contribute to risk-aversion and what can become an earned lack of trust by districts. The education providers will discuss districts’ resistance to partnering and how to stand out in a crowded marketplace with an overwhelming number of companies, business models, and products.

Earlier this year, Qaimari was promoted to president of Follett School Solutions. He joined the company in July 2014 and quickly earned key promotions, including being named executive vice president of Follett Corporation in October 2015. Prior to joining Follett, he served as senior vice president of sales and marketing for Cengage Learning’s Gale business.

The EdNET Conference, a B2B event hosted by MDR, provides senior executives from PreK-12 organizations with the latest information on market trends, business partnering opportunities, funding sources, new technologies, and activities of key market players.

Follett is the largest provider of educational materials and technology solutions to PreK-12 libraries, classrooms, learning centers and school districts in the United States, and a major supplier to educational institutions worldwide. Follett distributes books, reference materials, digital resources, ebooks and audiovisual materials, as well as pre-owned textbooks. Follett also is one of the leading providers of integrated educational technology for the management of physical and digital assets, the tracking, storing and analyzing of academic data, and digital learning environment tools for the classroom focusing on student achievement.

For more than 140 years, Follett has been a trusted partner to preK-12 schools, colleges and campus bookstores, taking care of the critical details that make it easier for schools to run, teachers to teach, students to learn and fans to celebrate. A leading provider of education technology, services and physical and digital content, Follett currently works with 70,000 schools and operates more than 1,200 local campus stores and 1,600 virtual stores. With the 2016 acquisition of Baker & Taylor, LLC, Follett's reach also extends into the public library and global retail markets. Today Follett Corporation is the world's largest single source of books, entertainment products, digital content and multi-media for libraries, schools and retailers. Follett is a $3.6 billion privately held company headquartered in Westchester, Illinois.

EdNET, now in its 28th year, is a business-to-business leadership forum focused on brands that provide solutions and services to the U.S. Education market. The meeting attracts top management and staff responsible for marketing, sales, business development, product development, and strategic initiatives as well as financial industry executives and education administrators and policymakers. EdNET is brought to you by MDR, the industry leader in educational marketing and research.